Mo Bamba is down to his last chance in the NBA

The life of an NBA journeyman is a rough one. Often, players wonder if this is their last chance to 'make it' in the NBA. Mo Bamba knows this well, as he recently joined the Utah Jazz to compete for a roster spot in training camp:

Mo Bamba was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Orlando Magic, who were a playoff team in his first season (2018-19). He was mostly a reserve during his time with the Magic behind All-Star center Nikola Vucevic.

During the 2020-21 season, Orlando dealt away their core, sending Nikola Vucevic, Aaron Gordon, Al-Farouq Aminu, and Evan Fournier elsewhere.

The Magic bottomed out with a 22-60 season in 2021-22, even as Bamba had a career season - 10.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 38% shooting from distance in 25 minutes a night.

Bamba was eventually traded as the Magic continued their rebuild. In February of 2023, he was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers. This continued his journey, which has also included stops in Philadelphia in 2023-24, the Los Angeles Clippers, the Utah Jazz (waived before playing a game), and the New Orleans Pelicans during the 2024-25 season.

Bamba could carve out a niche in Utah if all goes well

While Mo Bamba is not a starter or perhaps not a 20-minute-a-night player in the NBA, he has shown flashes in seven seasons as a big man who can space the floor. This is something the Jazz could use, as Walker Kessler and Jusuf Nurkic are lacking in that area.

He has also shown some rim protection (1.3 blocks per game for his career) that could prove useful in limited minutes, and make Bamba an option at times over Kyle Filipowski in the rotation.

And at age 27, he may be worth a flier on a low salary to fill the third center spot, as opposed to the 37-year-old Kevin Love, who may not be with the Jazz for very long.

While he won't be the next Rudy Gobert or even the next Walker Kessler, if Mo Bamba can show something in training camp and the preseason, it will go a long way toward keeping him in the league and giving the Utah Jazz some much-needed length in the frontcourt.

Bamba is young enough that he shouldn't be on the edge of being out of the NBA, and he really needs to take this opportunity by the horns if he wants to stay in the league for years to come.